Following Larion and Lotte's excursion into the forbidden mine of Kahrein-Du'em, the horrid truths of its depths were divulged only to a select handful of individuals. Elven guardsmen were posted to watch the mine's entrance for intruders, but were given strict instructions to never enter under any circumstances. A scout had arrived just an hour earlier to inform the small group that two men--one of them touting the Elven's Queen's sceptre, would be approaching, and had been granted permission to enter.
"Are you sure we're headed the right way?" Within a thicket of impenetrable bushes, Manyu voiced his concern, "I could swear we've passed through here already."
"Larion said it wouldn't be too difficult to find." Barion replied.
"Haven't these Elves ever heard of roads?"
"Navigating a forest is just second nature to them, supposedly." On a whim, his eyes travelled skyward, catching a glimpse of something rising into the air, "Oh, look at that."
Manyu followed his gaze, "...Smoke?"
"She did mention there was smoke rising out of the entrance. Must mean we're close."
Wandering through the humid undergrowth, the two of them shortly emerged onto a manmade clearing, with the rotted stumps of ancient trees arranged like gravestones in the bare dirt, and a crumbling monument of stone and beams rising from the earth, surrounded by guards at attention, who readied their spears as the duo stepped towards them.
"Halt." One of them demanded calmly, "Identify yourselves."
"Not to worry. We're here on Her Majesty's orders." Barion defused, brandishing the sceptre in one hand.
"…I see." Loosening his stance, the guard lowered his head, "My apologies. I presume the two of you mean to enter the mine?"
"We won't be two ticks. Just conducting some research, is all." He continued, "Has anything strange been happening here lately?"
"Not strange, no. Although, the endless smoke pouring out from the entrance has some of my men on edge." The guard reported, "A number of them have expressed a desire to investigate the matter themselves, but we've been strictly forbidden from doing so."
"I can only tell you so much, but that's a terrible idea. Worse than you could ever imagine."
"Barion, let's get to it." Manyu pushed, "I'd like to return before nightfall."
"Right." Nodding, he turned to the guard, "Keep up the good work."
"Barion…?" The guard muttered, "You wouldn't happen to be-"
He trailed off as the two of them sauntered past, a tad worried that his attitude hadn't quite been what was expected of him. As Barion approached the entrance, he held the sceptre aloft, and instantly, a hexagonal barrier formed a perfect sphere around him and Manyu. Without a second thought, he continued into the haze erupting from the mine's entrance, the duo disappearing from view completely.
"I must admit that I'm somewhat impressed." Manyu spoke as they entered, "-Not only that the ancient Aelvens had studied 'Mu'un', but that this kind of discovery had already been made centuries ago."
"I take it you know something about it, then?"
"Granda's lapdog--that Lotte fellow, he seemed to understand it well enough. It isn't magic, but a completely natural phenomenon, albeit one that can only be created in such concentrations by a manufactured source." He explained, "You could say that the purpose of Mu'un is not to harm-- just as a fire cannot be blamed for burning someone, Mu'un cannot be blamed for inducing sickness and injury."
"But why is it associated with Demons?"
"It plays a key part in their creation." Manyu replied, "-And, as you already know, it can be a potent weapon when wielded correctly."
"That's what I don't understand. You make it sound like Demons have a creator, but that creator isn't someone like you? A Demon King?" Barion questioned, "They come up from the underground lakes--that much we know, but what is it specifically that gives them life?"
"I believe we will discover the answer to that question today." He remarked, "Now, do these necklaces actually work?"
"I've used them before. Just keep it secure and you'll breathe water like air." Barion tapped the golden accoutrement around his neck, "The barrier will keep us dry, so don't worry about ruining your clothes."
"The thought hadn't even crossed my mind."
And so, they descended into that hellish pit of the earth, passing through the few shafts that hadn't collapsed on themselves and feeling the temperature rise to unbearable levels even through the sceptre's barrier. Just as Larion and Lotte had done before, they emerged into the mine's main tunnels and proceeded down the sloped passageway.
"This feeling…" Barion muttered, "I can definitely sense the presence of Demons."
"Don't stop moving." Manyu warned, "This place is liable to become our tomb if we linger."
As smoke clouded the way forward, the two of them eventually discovered the amateurish hole leading further into the earth, and made sure to watch their footing while descending towards the mysterious chamber. All of a sudden finding their surroundings much less claustrophobic, a cavern of unfathomable proportions stretched out for what seemed like miles before them--a cerulean lake glowing softly beneath the cliff upon which they stood.
"...I knew what to expect when we set out, but…" Barion blinked, "Just what are those things?"
Like crimson stalagmites, the pillars of flesh rising from the water's surface were like visions from a nightmare, terminating towards the blackened ceiling obscured by layers of tar-like smoke.
"The truth is that Demons are not creatures of circumstance or opportunity." Manyu explained, "They remain here, within their subterranean breeding grounds, and tunnel to the surface when the time for a Demon Age approaches. A singular Demon is only one part of a larger, collective entity responsible for strategizing the entire race's evolution."
"Why is the lake glowing?"
"Something to do with Mu'un, I imagine." He theorised, "Are you prepared to take the plunge?"
"Let's just hop in and float to the bottom."
"That would be a fine idea, if you were the only one here. I don't want to risk being thrown out of the barrier's range by a current."
"Why don't we hold hands in that case?"
"This is no time for joking around."
"What would you suggest, then?"
"Let's find a safe place to descend this cliff. Remember that we'll also have to climb back out--there won't be any water for us to swim through in the barrier, after all."
It was impossible to tell just how large the lake was, but at the edges of the cavern, a kind of lip had formed around the waterline, extending outwards before dropping sharply into a deep, fathomless abyss. As such, there was no truly safe place to begin descending from.
"Couldn't we use the sceptre to create a Gate once we're at the bottom?" Barion suggested.
"-If you're fine with flooding wherever it emerges, then go right ahead."
"This is too much problem solving for my liking."
"Well… suppose if we linked a Gate to where we're standing currently. The water would simply flow back into the lake."
"Excellent. Let's get to diving."
"Rather impatient, aren't you? The question still remains as to how we're getting down without being separated."
"Just give me your arm."
"Only promise me that you won't let go."
"I'm not interested in killing you. Not while you still have important information, anyway."
"How flattering."
Standing at the precipice of the cavern's cliff, the two of them stared deep into the luminescent waters. Then, taking hold of Manyu's wrist, Barion leapt from the edge, dragging the former Demon King along with him. As droplets flew into the air, the barrier--and those inside of it, began to sink like an iron ball, disappearing from view in a matter of seconds. With the sounds of the depths roiling around their sanctuary of magic, a few moments of silence passed as both men gazed downward, expecting to see the ground, their shared anticipation rising as the drop seemed to continue endlessly.
"Unbelievable…" Barion muttered, "Just how deep does it go?"
"I must admit that even I can't predict what we'll be seeing down here." Manyu confessed, "The origin of Demons… is it a creature? Or does this lake continue endlessly, and we've doomed ourselves by foolishly seeking knowledge beyond our comprehension?"
"Have you seen this lake before? You don't seem surprised by it in the slightest."
"Only a glimpse. In Hena." He replied, "I was able to conjure a barrier powerful enough to last for just enough time to survive a delve into a hole created by Demons. This isn't the only one, but I can't say just how many of them there are."
"We'll find a way to collapse the ceiling if that's what it takes to stop this." Barion swore, "Just the idea of potentially ridding the world of Demonkind for good sounds almost impossible, but we're moving closer to a solution every day. I was surprised by how much Gria has already accomplished. Do you see what's possible when we work together?"
"A few good souls cannot usher away the intrinsic evil within the hearts of men." Manyu stated, "The unmitigated expansion of our domains leads to war, death and hatred. My disdain for the cruel machinations of this world led me to destroy it--but also reinforced my devotion to the cycle. For even a plague of Demons cannot fully destroy a culture. Through thick and thin, they persist, even between fractured generations."
Through the murky cloud of the deep, a surface emerged. Bare, infertile soil, fit to sustain neither flora nor fauna, but which was not entirely undecorated. Across the lakebed were distributed hundreds of rectangular arrangements--cylindrical tubes held in place by binders of a fine, stainless metal.
"Finally…" Barion fidgeted with his necklace.
"What are these…" Manyu began, "-Rectangular things?"
Kneeling down in the safety of the barrier, he examined the strange objects with an intrigued gaze.
"Don't go touching anything, now." Barion warned, "Whatever they are, they're probably afflicted with Mu'un just like everything else."
"Even so… doesn't this metal remind you of anything?"
"...The tower." He recalled, "And Crucibles. They all have that perfectly smooth surface."
"They're all related in some way. Just as I thought." Manyu stood up, "Take great care as we move forward. We can't allow any of these jailed tubes to enter the barrier."
As they moved forward, the unnatural sound of water being displaced by the barrier repeated in their ears. The unnatural experience of walking along a lakebed tempted one with the opportunity to reach out and touch the suspended water above them, but knowing the dangers all-too-well, and more concerned with their objective, neither of the two felt particularly amazed by the situation. What concerned them the most were the innumerable, uncapped cases of tubes constantly impeding their path, rising up in great, disorganised hills as they proceeded towards the centre of the lake.
"...Barion." Manyu called, "There's a sign up ahead."
"A sign? Have you lost it?"
"Just look."
A few seconds later, some kind of silhouette emerged from the gloom, very much unlike a sign as Barion understood it. Suspended by two poles digging deep into the soil, it was a thin sheet of metal, bleached white with rust staining its edges, and adorned with incomprehensible black lettering.
"Oh. You're right." He remarked, "What does it say?"
"I'm not sure." Manyu studied the words, "...What language is this? Beastkin?"
"Not even close. It doesn't look like Elvish, either. And more to the point, what's a sign doing in a gargantuan lake in an underground cavern that kills anyone who gets anywhere near it?"
"What's this symbol?" He asked, "It looks… dangerous."
Sitting lonely and unattended at the very bottom of the message was an icon--a small, black dot surrounded by a trefoil of beheaded triangles, with a singular ring encircling the strange arrangement of shapes. As Manyu scanned the wording yet again, no meaning could be derived from the unfamiliar score of characters, other than that it was most certainly written in a language of some strange persuasion.
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